It’s Cheesy, But It’s Mine: The Meaning of The Sunrise Coalition

"We are called the Sunrise Coalition. It is cheesy, but it's mine." -- a sentence you have absolutely heard me say before. 

Last week, you learned about how the mission of The Sunrise Coalition came to be. However, a history without explaining the name is incomplete.  

You may not perfectly be able to guess what we are about when you hear "The Sunrise Coalition", but I hope you can feel it. When you hear the name, I hope you think of your favorite sunrises. The colors in the sky, the reasons you were up so early, the air slowly getting warmer as the sky slowly gets brighter, and the renewed energy that comes with the promise of a new day.  

The idea of The Sunrise Coalition came together on a run, so it was only fitting to channel one of my favorite running phenomenons when coming up with the name. If you have ever started a run in the dark and ended it after the sun has risen, you know about the renewed energy that comes with the dawn. It is hopeful and vibrant and has a knack for making you feel brand new. It is this energy and promise of a sunrise that I want women to experience when they receive care through one of our provider partners. I want to meet women in the midst of their physical and mental ailments, discouraged because the healthcare system has failed them again, and provide them an opportunity to receive the care they always deserved. I believe that when you offer this support to women, especially new moms, that you will experience tremendous light and warmth as a result. I believe from there we can send them off into their new day, with new light, and begin helping the next woman in the midst of her darkness. 

It is with this same consideration I chose "Coalition" over something more trendy, like "collective". A coalition is an alliance for combined action, and a vision of complete, holistic care requires an alliance between a diverse group of healthcare providers. I did not want to create something that continued the fractured way of seeing health, so I made sure to partner with providers that cared for the body, the mind, and the spirit. One woman may need care from multiple providers and one woman may only need care from one-- both are fine. The goal is to create a space where each is an option. 

The Sunrise Coalition may not be a name that embodies exactly what we do, but I do believe it embodies exactly who we are.